Intriguing
by dark-night-sky
Summary: Yaoi. NejiShika. Being bored one day, Shikamaru goes in search of a shogi partner, only to find himself intrigued by the Hyuuga genius.


NejiShika

Intriguing

Disclaimer (the fine print): I do not own Naruto

-

Day one; Shikamaru had been lazily lying on the grass, minding his own business when Ino had run up to him and started chattering like there was no tomorrow. She'd said something about Hyuuga and Shogi. He wasn't really paying attention, as normal. Chouji soon joined them, causing Shikamaru to sit up and pay attention. After a while, Ino started babbling about Hyuuga again.

"Chouji! Did you hear? Neji is a really good Shogi player!" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at that. Chouji nodded furiously.

"Yea, I heard he beat the champion, though everyone knows if Shikamaru could be bothered, he'd be the champion," a smirk spread on said Nara's face.

"Shikamaru, why don't you ever try excel at something?"

"Too troublesome. I know I'm brilliant at it, why should I try doing any better?" Ino bonked him on the head and frowned.

"I bet Neji's going to challenge you, you know! I heard he was really getting into it!"

Shikamaru sighed in defeat. "I don't know why I bother. Come on; let's go get something to eat…" Chouji grinned as his best friend stood, making his way down the hill, the other two following.

Zzz

Day two; the Nara was looking around town, trying to find something to do. There were no clouds in the sky, and Asuma was on a mission, so he didn't have anyone to beat at Shogi. That's when he remembered Neji; who was supposedly very good at the game. Changing his course, he headed towards the Hyuuga compound, target in site.

"S-Shikamaru-kun! W-we weren't expecting y-you." Hinita exclaimed, looking at the Nara in front of her. She smiled slightly and stepped out of the door way. "I'm guessing you're h-hear for N-Nejini-san?" She asked, getting a nod.

"Is he busy?" Shaking her head, Hinita lead the way to a room, sitting and opening the large shoji screen, revealing Neji in the middle, meditating. He probably knew they were there, but he seemed almost … asleep. "Is he…awake?" Neji opened his eyes and gave Shikamaru a sarcastic look. "Yes then."

"Nejini-san…ano, Shikamaru-kun is h-hear to s-see you," The elder Hyuuga nodded and smiled at the girl.

"Thank you Hinita-sama. Come in Shikamaru," Hinita smiled and trotted off, calling back about going out to train. Shikamaru walked into the large room, looking around slightly. "What did you want?"

Shikamaru shrugged in his uncaring way and stated; "I'm bored," in his plain voice. Neji stood from the mat and walked to the cupboard, opening it and retrieving a Shogi set and putting it on the floor.

"Sorry, we don't have any tables in this room," the younger boy shrugged again and sat opposite his new rival, helping him set out the board.

Zzz

Day three; Neji had lost. Twice. In a row. Though the second time, Shikamaru had come close to drawing. Neji had very good eyes obviously. Though after, when a messenger had come to tell Shikamaru to go to Tsunade's office the white eyed male had asked Shikamaru to come back when he was free. It fascinated the Nara how; though Neji had lost, he still wanted to play. Sure, Asuma played no matter how many times he lost, but Shikamaru had to seek him out, which was extremely troublesome. Maybe the Hyuuga was being polite; that was probably it.

No need to dwell on something so troublesome.

So, after talking to Tsunade about the students, Shikamaru went home. The next day he was again; bored. With nothing to do. Why were they having such good weather? So he found himself once again, at the Hyuuga compound, being lead to the meditation room by Hinita, who was smiling brightly. Then she was again, trotting off down the hall calling about going out to train, and he was helping Neji set up a Shogi set.

It was fascinating how the male's face was completely smooth, no crinkles or frowns, just a smooth pale face and cloud-like eyes. His jaw was defined, and his long dark hair wasn't tied back like it usually was on missions, this time it was let loose, falling over his shoulders.

"Shikamaru, it's your turn," said boy jolted slightly, noticing that the white eyes where looking at him curiously.

"Sorry, zoned out for a moment there," he sure must've missed the clouds. He needed a new hobby. In the end, even if he did zone out for a little while, he still managed to win.

Zzz

Day four; Shikamaru was, once again, sitting across from Neji; watching the other in fascination as he made his move. Just as he put the piece down, a messenger came through the door with urgent news for the Hyuuga; telling him to report to Tsunade straight away. So, they both left the room, Shogi board left in the centre of the room, as the two walked towards Tsunade's office.

"You think she has a mission for you?" Neji nodded, looking up with that proud aura he held. "How long do you think you'll be gone?" this made the taller male smirk, side glancing the Nara.

"Will you miss me while I'm gone?" the boy in question turned his head to the side and blushed.

"Ch, whatever, I've got things to do," and with that, he left; heading in no obvious direction to no apparent place.

Day 10; Neji's mission had taken a few days too many for Shikamaru's liking, and when the Hyuuga came back with a broken arm and a fractured hip, Shikamaru was often at the hospital. He'd just sit on the chair, legs either side of the back of the chair, hands folded on the top of the back rest and his head placed on his hands, and he'd watch the other. That's all he could do as the Hyuuga was asleep whenever he was there. He blamed it on his bad timing, and he knew he was worried. Today however; Neji wasn't asleep. His eyes where half lidded and he had bags under his eyes. The genius was propped upright and looked like he was about to go to sleep. Shikamaru felt his face heat up slightly as Sakura announced his arrival, and the sleepy boy looked up and smiled weekly.

"Hey…you should be sleeping, you look like shit," Shikamaru stated, grabbing the chair and swinging it round, sitting himself in his normal position. Neji's smile widened slightly.

"Gee thanks. I heard you'd been coming to visit for a few days, and wanted to be awake so that I wasn't just taking time out of your schedule," the brunet turn to the side and hid his face slightly.

"It's not that big of a deal…you're rest is most important," he locked eyes with the Hyuuga as he heard a chuckle.

"Spoken like a true leader." Sakura re-entered the room, Hinita behind her holding a bouquet nervously. "Ah, Hinita-sama, so glad you could come." The why girl smile and walked over to her cousin's side, placing the vase on the side table.

"I-I brought y-you flowers; Ino hel-helped me pick them, I hope you l-like t-them…I w-asn't sure what you like… so we g-got a select-selection," she stuttered, smiling lightly. Shikamaru watched the two, as Hinita asked her cousin how he was feeling. He didn't know what drew him to the Hyuuga…maybe it was the eyes.

Must be; those cloud-like eyes.

"See y-you Shikamaru-kun, N-Nejini-san," he heard as the door closed and the room was once again enveloped in a comfortable silence. Shikamaru was staring out the window, watching as the cloud drifted by, and the Hyuuga was doing the same while trying to not fall asleep.

"Go to sleep already. You obviously need it if you're going to get better," the only agreement shown was the closing of the eyes and the nodding of the head. Shikamaru sighed and got up, moving Neji into a lying down position, holing his waist and knees.

"Thank you…Shikamaru-kun." The boy sat back in his chair and went back to watching the Hyuuga, content.

Zzz

Day 11; Shikamaru returned to the hospital at his usual time after looking after some of the students, with a Shogi board under his arm, making his way to the room his new friend was in. As expected, the Hyuuga was propped up again, slightly more awake than yesterday, looking out the window. The Nara genius held up the game as he shut the door, Neji's attention fully on him, a small smile adorning his lips.

"You're back."

"You're awake."

And that was all that was said. The board was set up, and the two started playing. Shikamaru could remember where their pieces from the last game where, rather than starting from scratch. Sakura or a different medic would check up on them every now and then, grinning at the site of the two wrapped up in the game. Shikamaru no longer had time to stare at Neji; instead it was Neji staring at Shikamaru. The elder male informed his companion that he would be out of the hospital tomorrow, and the other nodded with a smile on his lips.

"That's great!" he said as enthusiastically as he would get. Neji nodded and made his last move, settling the game in a tie.

"Something on your mind?" Shikamaru stared into the white orbs, enchanted by them. Neji smiled slightly and chuckled.

"You look almost love-sick," the other blinked twice, that phrase going through his head. "It's true."

"I don't," he protested, looking away with a tinge to his cheeks.

"Do you want to tell me who it is...?" Shikamaru scoffed. "Or shall I guess?" Neji blinked as Shikamaru stood, packing up the Shogi set.

"I'm off."

"See you around then…"

"Yea…"

Zzz

Day 13; Shikamaru hadn't been to the Hyuuga compound for two days. It had almost been two weeks since their first meeting, and now the skies had clouds in them, he saw no real reason for visiting the teen. He was once again lying on the hill, hands behind his head and one foot on the other looking up at the sky in a daze. He could see some grey looking clouds up ahead, but didn't pay too much attention to them; instead, he happily sat in contentment, watching the fluffy clouds float ahead.

He'd fallen to sleep by the time the grey clouds had started leaking. He woke up, feeling wet and cold, and squinted up at the dreary sky. How cruel they were, first few days he's out here and they're already raining. He stood up, looking down at the dry patch of grass that was in his shape, slowly get wet, and made off towards the town. You would generally go to the closet house which held someone you knew. However, Shikamaru just strolled down the street in the direction of his house, getting ready for a boring evening. He stopped as he heard his name, turning around he saw a dark haired male waving his hand, running up to him. Shikamaru looked at the other as he stopped, a slight smirk on his face.

"Chasing me around town now, that desperate to beat me?" his companion glared and shook his head.

"I saw you passing as I was walking around the grounds and tried calling you, but you were too out of it…not thinking about that girl still, are we?" Shikamaru scoffed and turned his head slightly.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come in, you're going to catch a cold out here," the Hyuuga offered, Shikamaru paused for a second before sighing and nodding.

"Sure; nothing better to do," and with that, he followed Neji to the gates of the Hyuuga compound, and inside, glad for the dry. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare towel, would you?" he asked, shaking his head to get out some of the water.

Neji stopped and opened a cupboard, getting out two towels and handing one to his guest, keeping one himself and wrapping it round his shoulders. "My room is just down here, I might have some spare shorts you could borrow if you want?" Shikamaru nodded with a small smile on his face. Some people knew hoe to look after guests, unlike Ino…

They entered a relatively plain room, which had a table with a quit over, a futon, two large doors on one side of the room with patterns on, and a dresser. Neji walked over to one of the doors and slid it open, retrieving some clothes and giving some shorts to Shikamaru, who had taken off his jacket and thrown it next to the door.

"It's never going to dry properly if you screw it up on the floor like that. Here," he passed Shikamaru the beige shorts and picked up the jacket, "I'll go put it up to dry in the bathroom, give me your trousers too," Shikamaru pulled the item of clothing off and handed it to the Hyuuga, who left swiftly and he tugged the shorts on. Not a colour he'd normally wear, but he didn't really care too much. They weren't a wonderful fit either, but he was lucky the other shinobi wasn't as much as an asshole as he used to be.

He sat at the table, sneaking his arms and legs under. He smirked at the heat that was emitted from under the table top and was glad for heaters. Neji soon returned, re-dressed in a very long T-shirt and shorts with a towel over his head.

"You look like an idiot like that you know," Shikamaru started, getting the Hyuugas' face to colour delightfully.

"Shut up; my hair's wet. You try having stupidly long hair."

"Now you sound like a girl. If it's that much of a bother get it cut…" he sniggered at the half hearted glare that was sent in his direction.

"I don't sound like a girl, and I would never get my hair cut."

"You're right, it suits you like that," the Nara complimented without thinking. The two blushed slightly and sat in silence, with the sound of rain hammering against Neji's window. Shikamaru looked up as the elder teen jumped at the loud thunder, an amused look on his face.

"You; Neji Hyuuga, are scared of thunder?" the boy in question turned his head to the side and pulled the towel down slightly over his reddening face.

"N-No. It just shocked me, that's all," Shikamaru shrugged and watched the other. After a few more moments, another bang of thunder was heard and, as predicted, the Hyuuga prodigy jumped again. The boy flopped back with a groan and pulled the towel over his highlighted face. "So what if I am. Many people are scared of thunder." Shikamaru pulled a hand from under the table and rested his head on his wrist. He wanted to know more about his new friend.

"Any…particular reason?" the Hyuuga bit his lip, unsure of whether to answer, though this action went unseen by his guest. "You don't need to tell me, just thought it might help.

"I…I don't really know; I've never really liked the thunder…" sitting up and letting the towel fall over his face and into his lap, he looked up to the ceiling slightly, before scanning the ground.

"I recall what you said in the very first chounin exams. You said to Hinita that looking up to the … left I think it was, meant you were recalling a bad memory. Then looking at the ground like you just did meant you were trying to forget it. Something along those lines anyway." Neji scratched his head, grinning nervously.

"Yea…when I was little, I would get locked in this small room if I hadn't done something right and needed to be punished. Hinita-sama had the same thing happened to her, and we'd often be in together, though I was alone many times.

"I remember once, there was a storm and all we could hear was thunder banging. Then we heard many people rushing around above us, making a racket. I managed to get us out, and I was pulling Hinita-sama beside me; but we were found and though we kept running, Hinita-sama's father caught us, and we were so scared. That's the first real time that I knew what a big threat being part of the branch family was." Shikamaru noticed that Neji was running his fingers along his forehead in patterns. Leaning across the table, he grasped the pale hand in his own, getting the owner's head to snap up out of his thoughts and look at what he was doing.

He then got his other hand and pulled the forehead protector up, pushing whatever was covering the seal the branch family got up, and then ran his fingers across the blue pattern.

"Does it…hurt?" Shikamaru asked without paying much attention.

"No," Neji couldn't bring himself round to say anything else. Shikamaru stopped, lifting his hands off the cross slightly, before tapping the blue mark. Neji shut his eye for a moment as his head moved with the motion, and then looked up into dark eyes.

"Go to sleep; you look like shit." A smile crept onto the Hyuuga's lips at the words.

"Speak for yourself."

Zzz

Day 14; the dark eyed boy was rudely awoken by a loud banging on the paper door. He winced before his eyes fluttered open, looking at sleepy white ones. For a moment, the banging had disappeared and he was just captivated by the pale orbs. He noted that; though they looked white, they had a slight lilac tint in them. He heard himself say something, and the owner of the white eyes flustered slightly, though they didn't look away.

"Shikamaru Nara! Get your lazy ass out here right now! I've been banging on this door for goodness knows how long!" the banging was back and his current state was brought to his attention. His face was a few inches away from another's, and he was lying on the floor, hand holding someone else's. He shot up and let go of the hand, yelping slightly. The Hyuuga sat up and stretched, yawning, before rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry I didn't wake you; you're a pretty heavy sleeper," the Nara shook his head and watched as Neji stood, the T-shirt falling down to its full length as he walked to the sliding panel. "Ino!" Shikamaru spun round to see the blonde girl, a twitch in her eyebrow.

"I'm looking all over town for you, and you're here, playing friendly with some guy? Ugh, we were worried sick, if I knew you were such a-"

"What the hell?" Ino crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her team mate.

"Well, if you weren't playing friendly, what _were _you doing from about five yesterday afternoon till eight this morning?" Shikamaru sighed and stood up.

"Sleeping."

"Sleeping? Sleeping! Oh, you're mum's so mad at you right now, if you don't stop sleeping and get your lazy ass down to the training grounds right now she's going to cut your head off, mister!" the two Hyuuga's looked on at the two fighting in front of the, bemused. Neji stepped forward, stopping Ino's shouting.

"Hinita-sama, could you go get Shikamaru's things? They were in the bathroom. Sorry Ino; I didn't notice the time and the rain was too heavy last night for Shikamaru to go home, so he stayed here," the look he was giving her left no room for complaints. "Sorry for the trouble." Hinita soon returned with the Nara's clothes, which were dry and wearable.

"It's ok! I completely understand! Sorry for jumping to conclusions, you two just looked so … yeah, just woken up and all!" she laughed it off and dragged Hinita away, leaving Neji to shut the door.

"How'd you do that? I can't get her to shut up for all I'm worth!" Shikamaru exclaimed, discarding of the beige shorts and dressing himself in his own clothes. Neji laughed slightly as he got his own clothes out the cupboard. Neji laughed slightly as he got his own clothes out the cupboard after yanking his long T-shirt over his head, folding it neatly and putting it to the side.

"Practise." Shikamaru stared at the Hyuuga, as he watched the muscles ripple through the pale skin, almost like an art form. The strong arms, wide defined back. He was snapped out his thoughts at someone calling his name.

"Huh?" He looked at Neji's face, which was adorned with a smirk.

"Like what you see?" Shikamaru felt his face heat up and pound slightly. "You were so out of it. You've been doing that a lot recently." Shikamaru knew he should've turned around, that was the reason Neji was now facing the wall. Alas, he didn't turn round, and when Neji grabbed his boxer lining and gave them a good tug, he knew he was in trouble. There, standing in front of him, was a back view of heaven. He was sure of it. And when part of his view was covered by a fresh pair of boxers, and he got a look at the well sculptured chest of the object of his lust, he thought he'd died. He felt a strange pounding feeling work its way from his head, all the way to his lower regions.

"S-Shikamaru…a-are you?" Neji could bring himself to say it. Shikamaru was practically glowing red. In a flash, Neji was in his room alone, holding a pair of trousers and staring aimlessly at the spot where Shikamaru once was.

Zzz

Day 17; Shikamaru had not been anywhere near the Hyuuga compound in three days. He had only had a few teaching hours, as the normal teacher was away on a mission. Other than that, he hadn't been out his room unless he needed to. He'd sealed his door shut, so his mother couldn't get it, locked his window, and was currently lying on his bed, staring out the window. One of the things he needed however was food. He ate less, and only had one meal everyday.

"Shikamaru, you're friends are at the door for you!" he just looked at the door, blankly. "I've asked them to eat with us, so come out, it's dinner time," and stared some more.

"Shikamaru Nara! Get yourself out of that room right now and stop acting like a depressed teenage girl! You will come out and eat dinner with your guest!" Shikamaru stood, walking to the door and opened it, greeted with one very angry mother. He was dragged to the table, fearing the worst.

"Shikamaru; at last, I see your ugly mug!"

"Ano sa, Shikamaru! What happened to you?"

"Sorry, they followed me here…"

"Kiba, Naruto, Chou…what are you guys doing here?" the three just grinned, sitting at the table happily.

"Well, you haven't been out in a while, and we were getting worried," Chouji explained, getting a furious nod from Naruto and a grinning Kiba. Shikamaru turned to his mother with a pleading look.

"Can we eat in my room?" she twitched slightly and nodded, obviously not please. The three stood from the table and followed Shikamaru to his room, thanking Mrs. Nara as they past.

Shikamaru sealed his door and turned to face the three. Chouji was sitting on a chair, smiling lightly, while Naruto and Kiba where on his bed. He decided to sit on the floor rather than getting infected with hyper ness.

"So, Shikamaru…going to tell us why you've been locked in your room for the past three days?" Kiba chanced, getting a look from Shikamaru.

"No. It's too troublesome." Naruto sat on the side of the bed.

"You know, Neji's been kind of out of it too, he was going to come with us until he got a mission from Tsunade-baba," the three looked at Shikamaru as his face flushed and he groaned, falling back at the mention of the Hyuuga.

"Good."

They exchanged looks, before nodding.

"What happened between you two, I mean, it was fine until you stayed at his house one night, then you both fell into depression," Chouji pointed out, munching on some crisps. Kiba and Naruto looked up.

"Shikamaru slept at Neji's house?" they asked in unison.

"Kiba, pass me a pillow," Shikamaru received a pillow in his face and left it there. He heard someone approach him and frowned as the pillow was lifted off his face, and he saw Kiba floating above him.

"Oh no you don't, we are going to get to the bottom of this, even if it kills me!" the boy said, pulling Shikamaru up. "What the hell happened?"

"It's too troublesome!" A knocking on the door made them all stop. Shikamaru went, undid the seal and opened the door, seeing his mother with the food. They all sat in a circle, a plate of food for each of them.

"Come on Shikamaru, you can't avoid it forever," Naruto reasoned, digging into his hot meal.

"Watch me."

"Shikamaru…you know, eventually, you're going to have a mission with him, you do work well together," Chouji reminded him, mouth full.

"I'll decline."

"I'll lock you both in a cupboard until you sort yourselves out," Shikamaru glared at Kiba viciously.

"Fine…well…I was getting ready, I changed and stuff while he was getting his stuff out of the cupboard and umm…" Shikamaru looked nervously at three curious faces. "Well, I sort of…yeah," Kiba burst out laughing, and Chouji and Naruto just stared at him, puzzled. "Get Kiba to tell you."

"H-He," Kiba pointed at Shikamaru, still laughing. "Perved on Neji!" Naruto joined Kiba in his loud laughter and Chouji tried to stop himself.

"You did?" Shikamaru nodded.

"Ano sa, Shikamaru, what did he do?" Shikamaru scratched his head, biting the inside of his lip.

"Well…he just stood there and stared at me," Kiba held his stomach and calmed down.

"You mean like, stood there nude, or did he only notice when he was dressed?" Shikamaru blushed at the thought of a fully nude Neji on display.

"He noticed when he had boxers on, idiot," Naruto patted Shikamaru's shoulder.

"I guess that explains why you've locked yourself in your room all day, but wouldn't it be better if you went up to him and said sorry?"

"Too troublesome. Anyway, it'll be too … awkward," the Nara argued.

Zzz

Day 18; after some thought, and persuasion, Shikamaru went for a walk. Just a small walk and he didn't go that close to the Hyuuga compound. He passed Ino's flower shop and made his way to the hill. That's when he stopped. There, sitting on the hill was the very person he'd been planning to avoid for the past three or four days. Picking up his head, he made his way up the hill and sat down next to the elder male, who smiled slightly. That was that, they sat there in a peaceful silence, no one daring enough to break it. A slight tinge in their cheeks, Neji looking at the floor and Shikamaru looking at the sky.

"Umm…" Shikamaru shifted slightly as Neji's gaze fell on him. "I just wanted to a-apologize for the other day," he started, not meeting the other's gaze. He felt Neji shift a bit, but just stared at the sky. "I umm…I wasn't really thinking s-straight and umm…" he gulped as he felt something warm land on his shoulder. He felt the air in his lungs leave him as he felt warm breath on his neck. His head was thumping and his brain had gone numb, all words lost from his mouth. He could've sworn that the Hyuuga was doing this purposely.

"And…" Neji whispered, urging him on. Though to Shikamaru it sounded like an angel.

"And umm…I'm…sorry?" he thought he'd died as he felt a wet sensation on the side of his jaw as Neji licked at his skin.

"You're just … sorry?" he asked, pausing before he started to suck on the skin. Shikamaru let out a noise that was meant to be a yes, but didn't make any sense at all. "So you didn't mean to?" Shikamaru couldn't move his head; he let out a moan through his nose as Neji bit down while sucking the slightly tanned skin. "You don't want this then, huh?"

A groan escaped his lips as he felt pressure on his thigh. "You sound like you want it," Neji reasoned, even though he knew he'd lost Shikamaru. Shikamaru gasped as the hand got higher, and reached more sensitive parts. "Then again, you ARE sorry," he was reminded as the hand and lips lifted off his body, and he almost fell from following them. Neji yelped as he was pinned to the ground, looking up into dark eyes.

"Fuck you Hyuuga; only thing I'm sorry about is not jumping you," Shikamaru said before attacking Neji's lips. The elder boy moaned, wrapping his arms around Shikamaru's waist and switching their positions, smirking.

"Getting hasty now, are we? Don't forget which one of us is older," and with that, Neji worked his tongue into Shikamaru's mouth, exploring his cavern.

Zzz

Day 19; Shikamaru's mother wasn't so happy when he got home with a big, reddish mark on his jaw, and Tsunade was Glad when the Teacher came back the next day, avoiding sending Shikamaru in to teach. Kiba and Naruto had a good laugh trying to 'guess' why Shikamaru had a hickey and Chouji simply told him that Ino would never get his back. Of course, when she saw it she knew who it was from, but assumed the worst about the night of the storm. Hinita giggled when he came over and saw it, and Neji just smirked in that arrogant way he did. Of course, after that, everyone knew where the two would be; either on the hill, or in Neji's bedroom, enjoying a nice game of Shogi to pass the time. Neji sighed as he caught his lover, once again, watching him dress.

"You are such a pervert, you know that don't you," Shikamaru smirked and shrugged lightly.

"Sometimes, being a pervert is helpful…"

Zzz

Kitty: like anime? Looking for some avatars? Want a Naruto cursor you can make dance around the screen? Go to forget to leave a message in the shout out box

not my site, my friends XD

Sorry if I seemed to change the mood halfway through, people started talking to me…I've yet to have a story where I haven't inserted humour randomly

Please R+R!

Ciao

Kitty


End file.
